When former Florida State linebacker coach Kevin Steele accepted the defensive coordinator position at Alabama on Thursday, new Tide head coach Nick Saban got a lot more than an on the field coach. Steele is widely regarded as one of the top recruiters in the country and in fact was named Rivals.com assistant recruiter of the year for his effort recruiting the 2005 class.

In that class Steele managed to haul in five Rivals100 players including two 5-star recruits in Fred Rouse, rated the No. 6 overall player in the country, and No.1 all-purpose back Antone Smith. He also reached in to South Carolina for Jamie Robinson the nation's No. 6 cornerback, North Carolina for Derek Nicholson, No. 2 inside linebacker and snagged Florida native Eugene Hayes, No. 3 outside linebacker. In addition he assisted on several more of the key 'Nole signees that year in a class that was ranked 2nd best in the nation by Rivals.com.